How to Make a Poll
Select an online poll service., Keep your audience in mind., Strive for simple questions., Avoid bias in your questions., Send your poll out.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Select an online poll service.
If you want to send a poll out to a wide audience, there are a lot of survey tools online you can use for free or for a fee.
Browse the most popular online poll services to find a service that matches your needs.A lot of online survey tools are free, but range in how many questions you can ask and respondents you can seek out.
Survey Monkey, for example, only allows up to 15 questions and you can only send your survey to 100 people.
This may work for a smaller survey, but Typeform and Google Forms allow unlimited questions and respondents.
Google Forms also automatically uploads survey information into a spreadsheet and allows you to embed information in emails and websites.
You can also opt to pay for a survey tool.
This may be a good option if you need particular analytical features.
Client Heartbeat, for example, may work if you have an ongoing poll on your company website.
It sends alerts to let you know about unhappy customer feedback and other important issues.
The price ranges from $25/month to $85/month depending on the version you use. -
Step 2: Keep your audience in mind.
When you begin to compose your survey questions, you have to think about your tone.
Who are you trying to reach? What kind of language would this audience respond to? For most polls, you'll be aiming to reach as wide an audience as possible, so you'll want to adopt a tone that can be widely understood.For example, say you're asking a group of potential customers to rate medical services they received at a local hospital.
Avoid jargon heavy language.
When necessary, explain what you mean in simplistic terms or define something briefly for your audience.
Do not write a question like, "Did you feel the nurse's were professional and warm when taking your vital signs?" Not all audiences will recognize the term "vital signs" offhand.
Instead, write something like, "Vital signs, which include your blood pressure and heart beat, are collected prior to your exam by our nursing staff.
Did you find our staff to be professional and warm when checking your vital signs?"
You want to make your questions somewhat brief.
Many people will be taking your poll quickly, and may not want to spend too much time reading over questions.
They're more likely to give a thought out response if they get the question's content quickly.Say you're doing a survey on your target market's personality type.
Participants have to rate a question from strongly disagree to agree.
You write a sentence that reads, "I am the type of person who typically feels resistant to changes in my work or social setting that are unexpected." This question is somewhat lengthy.
Participants many not read over it, and may simply answer "neutral" or "I don't know." Fix up this sentence.
Essentially, your asking people if they tend to resist change.
Write something like, "I resist sudden changes to my work or social setting."
You want to watch for bias in your poll.
In order for a poll to be successful, you cannot ask questions that push your audience to adopt a certain answer.
Make sure all your questions give the participants a chance to think for themselves and answer the question accordingly.Never ask leading questions in a survey.
For example, "Most people find the smell of fruity perfumes, like pineapple and mango, remind them of summer and sunshine.
What associations do you have?" You're pushing your audience to associate these smells with a certain season.
Instead, ask something like, "What weather do you associate with fruity scents like pineapple and mango."
Once you've completed your poll, send it out.
You can send the poll to a variety of participants via email.
You can also put the poll up on your website and encourage visitors to participate.
If you have a strong social media presence, consider linking your poll there and allowing your fans to participate at will. -
Step 3: Strive for simple questions.
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Step 4: Avoid bias in your questions.
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Step 5: Send your poll out.
Detailed Guide
If you want to send a poll out to a wide audience, there are a lot of survey tools online you can use for free or for a fee.
Browse the most popular online poll services to find a service that matches your needs.A lot of online survey tools are free, but range in how many questions you can ask and respondents you can seek out.
Survey Monkey, for example, only allows up to 15 questions and you can only send your survey to 100 people.
This may work for a smaller survey, but Typeform and Google Forms allow unlimited questions and respondents.
Google Forms also automatically uploads survey information into a spreadsheet and allows you to embed information in emails and websites.
You can also opt to pay for a survey tool.
This may be a good option if you need particular analytical features.
Client Heartbeat, for example, may work if you have an ongoing poll on your company website.
It sends alerts to let you know about unhappy customer feedback and other important issues.
The price ranges from $25/month to $85/month depending on the version you use.
When you begin to compose your survey questions, you have to think about your tone.
Who are you trying to reach? What kind of language would this audience respond to? For most polls, you'll be aiming to reach as wide an audience as possible, so you'll want to adopt a tone that can be widely understood.For example, say you're asking a group of potential customers to rate medical services they received at a local hospital.
Avoid jargon heavy language.
When necessary, explain what you mean in simplistic terms or define something briefly for your audience.
Do not write a question like, "Did you feel the nurse's were professional and warm when taking your vital signs?" Not all audiences will recognize the term "vital signs" offhand.
Instead, write something like, "Vital signs, which include your blood pressure and heart beat, are collected prior to your exam by our nursing staff.
Did you find our staff to be professional and warm when checking your vital signs?"
You want to make your questions somewhat brief.
Many people will be taking your poll quickly, and may not want to spend too much time reading over questions.
They're more likely to give a thought out response if they get the question's content quickly.Say you're doing a survey on your target market's personality type.
Participants have to rate a question from strongly disagree to agree.
You write a sentence that reads, "I am the type of person who typically feels resistant to changes in my work or social setting that are unexpected." This question is somewhat lengthy.
Participants many not read over it, and may simply answer "neutral" or "I don't know." Fix up this sentence.
Essentially, your asking people if they tend to resist change.
Write something like, "I resist sudden changes to my work or social setting."
You want to watch for bias in your poll.
In order for a poll to be successful, you cannot ask questions that push your audience to adopt a certain answer.
Make sure all your questions give the participants a chance to think for themselves and answer the question accordingly.Never ask leading questions in a survey.
For example, "Most people find the smell of fruity perfumes, like pineapple and mango, remind them of summer and sunshine.
What associations do you have?" You're pushing your audience to associate these smells with a certain season.
Instead, ask something like, "What weather do you associate with fruity scents like pineapple and mango."
Once you've completed your poll, send it out.
You can send the poll to a variety of participants via email.
You can also put the poll up on your website and encourage visitors to participate.
If you have a strong social media presence, consider linking your poll there and allowing your fans to participate at will.
About the Author
Melissa Armstrong
A passionate writer with expertise in practical skills topics. Loves sharing practical knowledge.
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